Conventional shock absorbers include a piston slidably disposed within a cylinder interior chamber of a cylinder. A piston rod connected to the piston extends out of a cylinder first end of the cylinder. Damping forces can be generated by the shock absorber during an extension stroke in which the piston travels toward the cylinder first end, correspondingly extending the piston rod from the cylinder first end, and during a compression stroke in which the piston travels toward an opposing cylinder second end, retracting the piston rod within the cylinder interior chamber.
A conventional shock absorber may be disposed between a frame and a wheel of a vehicle. As an example, the cylinder can include upper mount which can be coupled to the frame of the vehicle while the piston rod can include a lower mount which can be coupled to an axle proximate the wheel of the vehicle. As the axle moves in relation to the sprung mass of the vehicle, the piston rod extends to a lesser or greater extent outside of the cylinder.
Accordingly, the piston rod can be exposed to flying debris, such as rocks, sand, or other scrap material, during travel. This debris can contact the piston rod with sufficient forces to cause surface irregularities in the piston rod, such as pits, scratches, dents, or the like, or combinations thereof. These surface irregularities can act on the piston rod seal as the piston rod repeatedly extends and retracts from the cylinder first end, resulting in wear to the piston rod seal, whereby wear to the piston rod seal can allow hydraulic fluid to leak from the cylinder interior chamber. Additionally, failure of the shock absorber can cause damage to suspension components of the vehicle and can transmit unwanted vibration and jolts to the sprung mass of the vehicle.
Thus, a need exists for a shock absorber protector capable of protecting the shock absorber and, in particular the piston rod extending out of the cylinder, from debris.